Penguins' path to 3rd place clearer with Capitals' loss
The Penguins’ path to finishing in third place of the Metropolitan Division was cleared somewhat thanks to the rival Washington Capitals.
Thanks in part to forward Josh Bailey’s goal and an assist leading the New York Islanders to a 5-1 home win against the Capitals at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. on Thursday, the Penguins need to simply avoid a regulation loss in their regular season finale, a home contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets at PPG Paints Arena, on Friday in order to secure third place in the division.
As for the Capitals, they conclude their regular season with a home contest against the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena on Friday.
The Penguins (45-25-11, 101 points) currently sit one point ahead of the Capitals (44-25-12, 100 points) in the standings.
Even if the teams each finish with the same number of points, the Penguins have the first two tiebreakers in the standings per NHL rules, regulation wins (36-35) as well as regulation and overtime wins (42-39).
If the Penguins finish in third place, they would face the second-place Rangers in the first round of the postseason. Should they finish in fourth place, they would be a wild-card team and that would set up a meeting with the Atlantic Division champion Florida Panthers — who have clinched the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top overall team — in the first round.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.